Thursday, 7 March 2013

crochet garland tutorial

If you've been reading for a while, you'll know one thing about me; no matter how hard I try, I cannot, cannot master the art of knitting. My fingers get all muddled and I end up with more holes than stitches, gah. I can crochet, though, and lately I've spent some time just playing around with my trusty 4mm hook and some cotton yarn, coming up with patterns for garlands and little decorations.

I'm a big fan of garlands - fabric, bobbles, paper.... for every occasion and in every room. You can make them from almost nothing, and stick them almost everywhere, and they're so quick to do. I usually just sort of bung them on the wall, in between prints or over the edge of mirrors. Or off of the edge of a shelf. From window handles. Over the top of a door...

This one lives under three little prints that sit above Daisy's cot in the corner of our room (she's still in with us, and will be until she can sleep in a bed, as her and Ben will be sharing for a while - we're only in a two-bedroom house at the moment, and can't find anything we like enough to move AGAIN), and is so simple to make, that you could probably finish it in a couple of evenings.

This motif is such a simple little make - before you know it, you'll have a stack of them, ready to join together in a wondrous garland-y... wonder. You could probably use any type of wool for this, but I always find cotton or cotton blend is best when doing garlands or decorations - it has a cleaner look about it, and tends to hold its shape a bit better. For this one, I used Rico Creative Cotton in an aran weight (by far the best brand of cotton yarn around, and the colour range is immense) and a 4mm hook, but for the tutorial I used a 4.50mm hook so the stitches in the photograph were easier to see. You can work them in as many colours as you like, but I think they look pretty sweet in a simple two-colour combination. Especially if one of them is teal!

One

Two

1. Start by making a magic circle. There's a million ways to do this, but the outcome is always the same - once you've worked into it, you can pull the end of the yarn so it closes up tightly. Chain 3, then crochet 11 trebles into the 3rd chain from the hook (picture one.) Join to the top of the first chain with a slip stitch (picture two). Your first round is complete!

Three

Four

Five

2. Chain 3. Work 2 trebles into the same place, then chain 3 (picture three).Insert your hook between the third and fourth trebles, and work three trebles into the space (picture four). Continue around, until you have six groups of three trebles, then join into the top of the three chains (picture five). Round two is done!

Six

Seven

3. Change your yarn colour (picture six), and attach into any gap. Chain one, then work the following into the same space: double crochet, treble crochet, chain two, treble crochet, double crochet (picture seven). One of the six little peak-y things is formed (that's a technical term right there, ladies and gents).

Eight

4. Double crochet into the next two trebles (picture eight), then repeat steps 3 and 4 until you've completed the next round. Join with a slip stitch into the first chain, and your motif is complete. Hurrah!

The finished product.

Your motif will probably be a little bit neater than this - because I used a larger hook, everything looks a bit looser than it should do.

Once you've got a stack of them, you can join them together with a row of chain stitches which pass through either one or two points on each motif, and then string the whole lovely thing up pretty much anywhere. On a wall, over a picture, across the top of a mirror.... if you can find somewhere to hook it on, do!

I'd love to see pictures of any other garlands anyone makes - leave me a comment or a link if you decide to have a go! (I really hope this tutorial makes sense - if anything is confusing, please, PLEASE, email me or leave a comment, and I'll do my best to help.)

24 comments

I'm the exact opposite, knitting is completely logical to me, but crochet is just weird. i can do it, but i find the intsructuion with single, double, treble, which seem to mean something different in different countries so confusing!

I get SO confused! 11 trebles? all in the same hole? Is that right? The reason I ask is that I am trying to get my head round making roses (apparently they are EASY - HA!) and I have to do something similar and I literally cannot get the hook in :(

Sorry - in my desperation - I have taken over your comments! This looks LOVELY! I like the idea of garlands on my bookcase!

Yep - all into the same hole! Sometimes if you crochet your chain too tightly, you can't get the hook in. Do you want me to do a little video so you can see exactly where to go? (I've never done a video before, so God only knows what this would turn out like!)

Thanks though - you can never have too many garlands! Do let me know if you want me to try a video for you.

Ok - then maybe that is the issue i am having with the roses (i need to learn how to make them - I am making my own bouquets for my wedding - luckily i have over a year to learn! HA!) I even have a tutorial printed out that is in plain speak, because I do not get all the jargon (yet!) I shall press on!

I would love a tutorial on the 2nd garland - but only if it is something you would like to do :D

Ahhh, how good is the blog hop? I've got so many to go through now, I'm booking this evening to read them all! Thanks for the lovely comments - so kind of you. I do love the print, I've some others similar since in Paperchase too! :)

Hello fellow blog hopper! I am enjoying your cheery, and colorful post's! And I used to crochet wth my Gram when i was but a girl, and now have forgotten.:( And knitting..Yike's But thankyou for the tutorial just the same!:) Dawn

Hi Vicky, I saw this post on pinterest, and like many other visitors here, fell head over heels in love with your garlands pictured above. Do you have a pattern or a link to a pattern that you wish to share with the world? Thanks a lot for your inspiring blog in any case! Groeten, Linde